Coke-oven or gas-furnace.



W. PEICKS.

00KB OVEN 0R GAS FURNACE.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 3, 1912.

1,098,374, Patented June 2, 191i F/GJ FIG. 2. P 1L I] WITNESSES: vyv7'0,&7;-

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFioE.

WILLIAM FEICKS, OF BLOOMFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

COKE-OVEN OB. GAS-FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-June 2, 1914.

Application filed J anuary 3, 1912. Serial No. 669,188.

comprises an oven or furnace structure hav- I ing peculiar chargingdoors and a charging apparatus arranged to co-act therewith in suchmanner as to insure successful delivery of fuel into the interior of thefurnace and to provide a positive check against the premature operationof the charging device, as when it is not in correct position to deliverthe fuel into the oven, all as more fully hereinafter set forth and asclaimed.

Machines of this type, in which either a hop-' per or a tube fittedloosely to the lower end thereof can be lowered to make connections witha charging door to cover the hole-and prevent the escape of gas, areknown; but there are several objections to such machines, and thereforethey have not been generally adopted. Where a hopper 'is arranged tomake connection with the oven charge opening, the raising and lower ngof such hopper requires somewhat complicated structures and mechanisms,while in the type connection with the oven, and separate devices beprovided for opening the hopper. Both of these disadvantages will be somuch more evident in cases Where a plurality 'of hoppers are mounted ona car and arranged to be simultaneously discharged, so as to expeditethe charging of the battery. As is usual with such apparatus, theoperator for various reasons, is located on an elevated platform or in aclosed cab, from which it is impossible to determine exactly, whenbringing the car into position, if the hopper out-let is directly abovethe charging hole in which it is desired to dump a charge of fresh fuel.Or, due to carelessness in general, on the part of the operator, he mayopen the hopper discharge before the machine is in proper position andthus spill part or all the fuel on top of the oven or into the seals andcause considerable trouble and delay.

The objects of my present invention, beside eliminating thedisadvantages of other machines, above referred to, are to provideexceptionally simple and inexpensive apparatus for successfully chargingthe ovens, and an apparatus by which it is impossible to open the hopperout-let and thereby prematurely discharge the fuel therefrom when themachine is not in position to allow all the charge to enter the oven. 7

With these and other objects in view, my invention comprises a carprovided preferably with a plurality of hoppers for simultaneouslycharging the ovens, and a peculiar charge opening on the ovens arrangedto co-act with the hoppers to allow the charge to be dumped into thefurnace, but to prevent the hopper from operating unless directly overthe openings and forming airtight connections with the hopper bottoms orsleeves slidably connected thereto.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of referencedesignate corresponding parts, Figure 1, is a longitudinal sectionthrough an oven with my improved hopper car above the same shown inelevation; Fig. 2, shows an end view of the car; Fig. 3'is avertical-transverse section on line 11 of Fig. 1, and shows thebell-valve in lowered position in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings, numeral 1 designates a battery of ovens orfurnaces, having the charging holes 2, each provided with a sunken seal3, here shown as liquid seals. These seals comprise annular sections 4:for water, resting in the ovens and seated on shoulders 5, andextensions 6 extending inside the openings. The seal is flush with orlower than the top wall' of the oven so that the hopper or sleeve maycooperate therewith, as hereinafter described.

I A car. 7, which may be power or hand driven, is arranged to traversethe battery of ovens on rails 8, and as shown is equipped with threehoppers or charges 9, suitably spaced and arranged to simultaneouslyconnect with and discharge into the oven openings 2. I may provide onecharger or a plurality of them, but as Shown, the car is arranged tocharge three openings simultaneously. Each charging device 9, isprovided with a base 10 carrying the discharge end 11 with rip-turnedflanged portion 12 (shown clearly in Fig. 3.) Sleeve 13 withtheturned-over end 14 is arranged to slide -on the discharge end 11 of thehopper and suitable packing 15 may be provided if desired. This sleeve13 is constructed with a seat 16 for the upper portion of a bell valve18 and with flange 17 adapted to seat in seal 3. For controlling themovement of the sleeve 13, and also to charge the ovens as hereinafterdescribed, I provide a bell or bell-valve 18, normally seated at theseat or end 16 of the sleeve and closing the lower end thereof. Thisbell-valve is operated through chain or rope 19 traveling in the tube 20in order that the coal or other fuel used in the hoppers and sleeves maynot interfere with the raising and lowering of the bell-valve. The rope19 is operated through drum 21 or other suitable hoisting device, whichmay in turn be operated through shaft 22 and hand-wheel 2a or equivalentmeans. The bottom of this bell-valve is normally flush with the bottomof the sleeve or it may extend slightly beyond the flange 17 It shouldnot terminate short of the extremity of the sleeve, but should be atleast flush with the extremity, .since the sleeve will, under the latterconditions, prevent the valve opening when the charging device is notdirectly above an opening in the fur.- .iace. It is advantageous,however, to extend the valve slightly beyond the sleeve so as to obtaina positive seating of the valve if the charging device is lowered whenout of line with an opening. This arrangement serves as a check toprevent premature and incorrect discharge of the coal, as hereinafterexplained. The frame-work 24 of the car, and the still-pots 25 of theovens are not described in detail as they are shown for the sake ofillustration and adaptation of my invention, and are not necessarily ofthe form and construction shown for the correct operation andapplication of my device.

In operation, the car, with its chargers and hoppers, is brought intoposition over the charge openings of the furnace, the plugs 26 of thecharging holes 2 having been first removed; the hand-wheel 22 isrevolved so as to play out the rope 19, thereby first simultaneouslylowering the sleeve 13 and the bell-valve 18 supporting the same, untilthe sleeve comes into contact with the seal 3 or the wall around theoven opening, at which time an air-tight connection is formed and thebell-valve continues to descend into the opening and allows a charge ofcoal carried in the hopper and sleeve to be dumped into the oven. Shouldthe operator stop the car in incorrect position for charging and thenattempt to lower the sleeve and bellvalve, the oven top forms a checkagainst such premature charging, since the bottom of the bell-valveextends beyond the sleeve flange 17, or at least flush with its lowerend, and is effectually held in closed position noose/e by itsengagement with the top of the oven or possibly the part of seal 3. Whenthe car is in correct positidn and the sleeve 13 i lowered, the flange17 seats in the seal,

the bell-valve is directly over the opening,

and can descend directly into the same to deliver a charge, while theair-tight joint formed by the seal and the sleeve effectually preventsthe escape of gas and the admission of air into the oven. After thehoppers are emptied, the hand wheel is again revolved, but in theopposite direction, causing first :1 raising of the bell-valve, andafter the bellvalve engages its seat 16 on the sleeve 13, the elevationof said sleeve on the hopper eX tension or discharge end 11 until aposition is reached which will allow the bell to clear the dischargeplugs of the oven when the car is traveling.

My invention successfull overcomes the disadvantages of the other knownmachines and provides a simple, comparatively inexpensive, and eflicientmachine for charging coke ovens and the like.

It is evident that various changes may be made by those skilled in theart without departing from the scope of my invention and I do thereforenot limit myself to the special form and exact construction shown in theaccompanying drawings. It is also evident that theparticular applicationof my device o coke ovens, as shown, is not the only manner in which theinvention may be used, since it is applicable to blast furnaces, retortsof certain types, and in fact any structure wherein charging devices maybe used; therefore in the following claims wherein the word furnace isused, such claims are to be construed as covering any type of furnace,(blast, gas, or otherwise) retort or oven structure where a charge ofmaterial of any kind is to be fed into the interior thereof.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1.. Thecombination with a furnace having a chargin opening surrounded by asunken seal, 0 a charging device carrying sealing means for engagementwith said sunken seal to form an air-tight joint therewith and providedwith a closure which is operable to open the charging device only whenthe sealing means is in engagement, with said sunken seal.

2. The combination with a furnace having a charging opening surroundedby a sunken seal, of a charging device comprising a hopper and a sleevetherefor, said sleeve provided with a closure at one end and withsealing means to form an air-tight joint with said sunken seal, andmeans for elevating and lowering said closure to elevate and lower saidsleeve andto open the end thereof wheen the sealing means of said leveris in engagement with the sunken seal.

3. The combination with a battery of furnaces having charging openings,of a car adapted to traverse the battery and carrying a charging devicecomprising a hopper provided with' slidable enveloping means forcovering an opening of the oven, said enveloping means provided with avalve adapted to control the operation of the enveloping means but whichin turn may only be unseated when the enveloping means is covering saidopening.

4. In a charging device for furnaces, a car provided with a hopper forcontaining the materialtobe charged, a discharge end carried by saidhopper, a sleeve arranged to slide on said end, means carried by thesleeve for engagement with the furnace, a

.valve at the end ofsaid'sleeve normally extending downwardly at leastflush with the end and arranged to operate the same, and

mechanism for controlling said valve.

5. In a charging device for furnaces, a hopper carrying a slidablesleeve adapted to engage the furnace and a valve arranged to controlsaid sleeve on said hopper, said valve extending at least flush with theend of said sleeve, whereby said valve is allowed to disengage the endof the sleeve to deliver a charge only when directly above an open- 6.In a charging device for furnaces, the combination of a movable truckprovided with a hopper, a sleeve slidably connected to the discharge endof said hopper, a movable bell-bottom normally closing the outlet ofsaid sleeve and supporting the same,

means for simultaneously raising and lowering said bell-bottom and thussaid sleeve relative to said hopper and for raising and lowering saidbell-bottom relative to said sleeve and hopper.

7. In a charging device of the character described for furnaces having.charging openings surrounded by sunken seals, a hopper carrying meansadapted to engage the top wall of the furnace surrounding an opening, aclosure for said means extending adapted'to seat on said extremity andpro- 1 Vlded with flexible means for raising and lowering the same, atube disposed in said sleeve and enveloping said flexible means,

and mechanism forwinding and unwinding said flexible means to elevateandlower the bell-va1ve and said sleeve.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature in the presence of Witnesses.

WILLIAM FEICKS.

Witnesses: v FRED; W. WELSH, LOUIS D. HANKE,

